Decoding Direct Marketing with Examples

Introduction – Direct Marketing with Examples

Direct marketing is an interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to affect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location. In this article lets discuss Direct Marketing with examples

Direct Marketing Meaning

Direct marketing means Marketing which involves the use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or Internet to communicate directly with or solicit a direct response from specific customers and prospects

Need for Direct Marketing

• Direct marketing enables companies to target their offers directly to customers and also to measure their results more accurately.
• It involves the use of a variety of activities, including database management, online marketing, mobile marketing, telemarketing and also direct selling through mail.
• The availability of credit cards and toll-free phone numbers has also facilitated the purchase of products from direct response ads. More recently, the rapid growth of the Internet and also the emergence of smart phones is fuelling the growth of direct marketing. Telemarketing is also being used.

MUST READ: 5 BEST TOOLS FOR DIRECT MARKETING WITH ADVANTAGES IN DETAIL

Direct Marketing with examples

Direct marketing has been made more feasible due to the wider options available to the marketers. The existing media-print and broadcast, catalogues, direct mail, and telephone, has been complemented by fax machines, e-mail, the Internet, and also online services. Companies are increasingly using all these media options to make direct offers to existing customers and also to identify new prospects

Unique Features of Direct Marketing

Some of the unique features of direct marketing are illustrated in and explained under

Personal messages:

Generally the direct mail messages which are designed for a specific audience are addressed personally to the person concerned and also have a bit of personnel touch to them as compared to all other promotional tools where a general expression is used.

Customised:

As explained earlier most of the direct marketing messages are customised keeping the target audience into account. They are delivered directly to the concerned person and a direct response is sought from them.

Up-to-date:

Direct marketing messages are designed frequently and are sent at short intervals, so as and when there is a change in the product, a new feature is added, or a new scheme is introduced, it is brought to the notice of the target audience with revised messages.

Interactive and instant feedback:

Direct marketing turns out to be a highly interactive medium, especially in telemarketing with the help of the toll-free number and Internet where customers log on to the websites, they can call or ask for additional information besides the one being delivered directly from the manufacturer. Customers can also provide their feedback immediately to the company.

Secrecy is maintained:

Direct marketing tools provide the manufacturers an exclusive advantage of keeping their advertising campaign secret from the competitors as they address their messages directly and also personally to the target audience. In most of the cases the competitor does not gets to know about the promises being made by the manufacturer to the customers which gives the manufacturer a competitive advantage.

Economical pricing:

Direct marketing also provides the advantage of economical pricing to the customers as the manufacturer in this case can do away with the middleman so the middleman’s commission is saved and the cost saving is passed on to the customers in the form of reduced prices.

Personalised sales promotion incentives:

In addition to advertising on the web, marketers offer sales promotion incentives such as coupons, contests, and sweepstakes online and they use the Internet to conduct direct marketing activities more effectively and efficiently

Direct Marketing Examples

Some of the examples of the success of direct marketing are

• Reader’s Digest magazine
• Amway
• Tupperware
• Amazon.com
• Myntra.com
• Flipcart.com etc

What are the Benefits of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing benefits both the customers and the marketers in many ways. Some of the important ones are listed as under:

• Shopping through direct marketing is a very convenient and trouble-free experience for customers. It saves time and introduces customers to a larger selection of merchandise.
• Consumers can do comparative shopping by browsing through mail catalogues and also online shopping services.
• Direct marketing saves the botheration of travelling long distances, traffic problems and also parking hassles.
• Marketers also benefit from direct marketing as they can give a personal touch to their communication for their prospective customers.
• Direct marketers can build a continuous relationship with each customer and also can get constant feedback from them.
• Direct marketing can also give the advantage of reaching prospects at the right time.
• It permits the testing of alternative media and also messages in search of the most cost effective approach.
• It can help marketers in measuring responses to their campaigns to decide as to which one has been the most profitable.
• Direct marketing also makes the direct marketer’s offer and also strategy less visible to competitors

Direct Marketing FAQ

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